Rav Naftuli Horowitz, the Krula Rebbe, at the
recent wedding of his son.
(Photo credit: JDN)

Shopping for Tu B’Shevat.

The Satmar kehillah
in Monsey recently showed
appreciation
to community members
who assisted
in the preparations for the
wedding of
the daughter
of Rav Chaim
Halberstam,
rav of the Satmar shul in
Rockland.
(Photo credit:
JDN)

(Photo credit: Dee Voch)

The Chess Club at the Philadelphia Russian Kollel, designed to bring children into
the shul.

A new partnership between the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations, Teach-NYS, and a
group of New York Jewish day schools representing more than 5,000 students will consolidate community resources, conserve money, and expand advocacy efforts.
Schools participating in the new venture include
Manhattan Day School, SAR, Westchester Day
School, Solomon Schechter School of Westchester,
Schechter School of Long Island, North Shore Hebrew Academy, Barkai Yeshiva, Yeshivat Darche
Eretz, and Yeshiva of Flatbush. The partnership
was forged under the leadership of communal leaders Jack Bendheim and Sam Sutton, who will serve
as co-chairs of the joint initiative. The OU’s New
York State Director of Political Affairs Jeff Leb will

serve as political director.
“We have ambitious goals for this merger which
go beyond what Jewish education has seen in New
York, home of the majority of Jewish day school families in the United States,” said Dr. Simcha Katz,
president of the Orthodox Union. “This partnership
is designed to not just symbolically unify Jewish day
schools and major Jewish organizations such as the
OU, but to pursue a comprehensive policy to deliver resources to children, relief to parents, and funding to Jewish day schools.”

Trial For Drunk Driver Begins
Anel Kolenovic has been charged with vehicular
manslaughter and jury selection for his trial began
this week. On November 29, 2010, Kolenovic, driving
drunk, killed 25-year-old Moshe Berkowitz.
A dear friend to many, and a beloved teacher
to his students, Berkowitz’s sudden and untimely

passing left a huge hole in the hearts of those who
knew him. In his day-to-day life Berkowitz was
always smiling, trying to help others, and striving to be a better person. He wasn’t born into a
privileged family and had to struggle to overcome
many obstacles in his life. But overcome them he
did, and he was an inspiration to his friends and
students alike.
Moshe felt a sense of gratitude to Yeshivas Ohr
Yitzchok, where he was a student, and decided to
give back by teaching in that same school. His students said they felt very close to their teacher. He
understood them and encouraged them to make
something of themselves. In his spare time, he was
an NCSY advisor, inspiring other teens and bringing them closer to their roots.
Moshe’s family and friends strongly the support
the efforts of the District Attorney’s Office to effect
justice in this case.

A Special Trip
Yael (Yvette) Jeidel of Brooklyn, NY participated in the recent Taglit-Birthright Israel Orthodox Union Israel Free Spirit (Birthright) Yachad
10-day trip to Israel. Yael, who has cerebral palsy
and mental retardation, and uses a communication
board to communicate with others, was accompanied by a staff member. She was permitted to take
the trip despite being older than the usual 26-yearold maximum age for Taglit-Birthright Israel.
Upon the group’s return, Yael’s mother, Vardi
Jeidel, sent the following letter to Nicole Bodner,
director of New York Yachad. The letter is reprinted with Mrs. Jeidel’s permission. The letter has
not been edited:
Dear Nicole and All,
I wanted to take a few moments before Shabbat to put my thoughts down and thank you and

Yael with counselor Chaya Suri Klein on Masada.

your wonderful organization for giving my daughter Yael the trip of her lifetime. I cannot even say
that it was a dream come true, because, quite honestly we never even could have dreamed that such
a trip was even a possibility for her.
Many in our family have been to Israel; as you
may know Yael has two siblings currently living
there. But it was too much of a stretch of our imagination to even think of Yael maneuvering around
the country. And yet she went to Israel. Every evening during her trip, we would look at the Snapfish photos you so thoughtfully sent, and found it
hard to digest what we were seeing:
Yael is in a shul in Tzfat!
Yael is in the old city of Jerusalem!
Yael is on top of Masada!
If someone would have told me that you photoshopped her into the photos, I could have believed
them.
Yael and others like her, spend their lives trapped
within the limitations of their bodies. These past days,
if only for a short while, she was released from her
confines. There was nothing that she couldn’t do and
no place she couldn’t go. She was free.
Today I spoke with her counselor, Chaya Suri,
who described the care and devotion of all the staff,
whether it was you, Nicole, and your devotion; Asaf
and his costumes; other counselors; the soldiers; bus
driver; and Rachel from Tampa. Everyone had time
and love to give to the others to help out.

The Acute Need for Jewish Foster Parents
By Chaya Surie Malek
Hurricane Sandy left many people displaced
from their homes. This displacement meant families needed to live in other homes – some with
family or friends, some in their own community,
and some in other communities.
The foster care department at Ohel Children’s
Home and Family Services works with children
who, in a sense, experience Sandy all the time.
They are removed from their homes and separated from people they love and personal objects
that have significant value to them. They may be
forced to move to a different neighborhood. Daily
life is no longer the same and they may lose their
sense of normalcy and safety.
When concerns about the safety of a child are
brought to the attention of the city, the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) investigates.
If the investigators believe that a child is in imminent danger, ACS may decide to place that child
in foster care. In New York, Ohel is the only Jewish foster care agency contracted with ACS. And
contrary to common belief, there are many Jewish children in need of foster care. Ohel has provided over 2,500 Jewish children with safe and
loving foster families.
Once the child is placed with Ohel, Ohel is responsible to work with the parents to improve conditions so that the child can be returned home. If
that is not possible, Ohel explores family or other resources. If the court determines that a child

cannot safely be returned home and there are no
other appropriate resources, a child may be freed
for adoption by a family court judge. The amount
of time that children are in foster care is uncertain and varies from case to case.
For children who have just lost their family and
all they are familiar with, stability is an integral
part of what they need to begin to adjust. While
Ohel continues to work with dedicated foster parents and successful placements, the shortage of
foster homes means that some children are not receiving the optimum care and stability they need.
As such, Ohel Foster Care will be holding two
community informational and recruitment meetings to raise awareness of this dire need. These
will take place on February 2 at 8 p.m. at the home
of Azriel and Sara Ganz, 991 South End, Woodmere, and on February 12 at 8 p.m. at the home
of Lazer and Chana Calderon at 1120 Waterview
Street, Far Rockaway.
Those interested in meeting with an Ohel member, attending one of Ohel’s community meetings,
or hosting an informational event should please
contact Shulamis Marcus at 718-851-6300 or
child@ohelfamily.org. More information is available at ohelfamily.org/foster.
The suffering of foster children and the aftermath of their personal “Sandy” is devastating. Consider opening your home to a child in need. Become
a foster parent. Rebuild a life. Rebuild a world.

Nothing was a hardship and everything was
possible.
Yael’s favorite activity is going on a roller coaster
ride. She sits in a straight jacket and soars through
the air and feels the rush of movement. For a few
short giddy moments she is free, she ﬂies. She is like
anyone else who happens to like a roller coaster ride.
For these past ten days, thanks to you at Birthright, she was freed of her limitations. Yael was free
to enjoy all that Israel had to offer, and she loved it
completely. We thank you so very much.
Sincerely,
Vardi Jeidel

Chicago Teacher
Awards
The Associated Talmud Torahs of Chicago is now accepting nominations for the Hartman Family Foundation Educator of the Year
Awards. The awards are designed to recognize
excellence in teaching, dedication, commitment
to lifelong learning, and creativity.
At the ATT’s Annual Banquet, one award of
$15,000 and two awards of $5,000 will be presented to three outstanding educators.
An impartial panel consisting of educational
consultants and community members will evaluate each nomination. Teachers submit responses
to a questionnaire with information about their
teaching beliefs and practices and ongoing education and commitment to the success of all
students. The finalists will be observed in their
classrooms and the winners will be announced
in the fall of 2013.
Last year’s Hartman awardees were Rabbi
Michael Myers of Ida Crown Jewish Academy,
Mrs. Pearl Gross of Arie Crown Hebrew Day
School, and Ms. Ariela Haymberg of Hillel Torah North Suburban Day School.
Nomination forms are available at the ATT
office or online at www.att.org between February 4 and May 10. Nominations may also be
submitted via mail to the Selection Committee
of the Educator of the Year Awards, c/o Associated Talmud Torahs of Chicago, 2828 W. Pratt
Blvd., Chicago, IL, 60645.